Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Okay, so I was going to post a review of the A Touch of Evil board-game today but something cropped up that I very much want to share with you. I received a massive parcel late yesterday afternoon that contained everything that I had ordered for Zombicide season 3.

As you can see from the photo above what I got just about covers my dining room table. I have waited a long time for this parcel to arrive but believe me, it was well worth waiting for. I am just so happy! This was way more happier than Christmas Day!

I'll ignore the Infected and Moustache Pack 2 sets from this photo as I've already described them. In the top right is the biggest box that I got - Rue Morgue. This is a stand alone expansion set and comprises a Full Colour Rulebook, 80 Zombie Miniatures, 12 Survivor Miniatures with ID Cards, 9 Double-Sided Game Boards, 155 cards (86 Equipment Cards, 48 Zombie Cards, 9 Team Cards and 16 Wounded Cards), 2 Sheets of 92 Counters, 8 Dice and 11 Tent Cards.
Moving down, are two boxed sets of figures. Lost Zombivors contains 12 Zombivor Miniatures of the 12 Survivors found in Rue Morgue. Ultimate Survivors contains 6 Miniatures of the 6 Survivors found in the original Zombicide boxed set but upgraded to heroic levels. This was the one set I wanted the most out of everything I ordered here.
In the bottom of the photo are my Yellow Dice Bag, Purple Box which came with one of each of every promo ID card used in all three seasons of the game (extremely useful, although the box is rather naff) and two of my four boxed sets of figures sculpted by Special Guests. Each box contains 2 Survivor Miniatures and 2 Zombivor Miniatures.

In this last photo at the top left corner are eight boxes each containing 1 Survivor Miniature and 1 Zombivor Miniature (Audrey, Benny, Curro, Kris, Miss Trish, Nikki, Oksana and Patrick).
Below them is my red plastic Folding Dice Tower and 110 ID Cards for every character produced for Zombicide (note that I have added ID Cards from other sets to form one complete deck).
Just below my Dice Bag are a Team Building Deck of Cards and a Deck of Experience Cards.
Moving right are 5 stickers, one of which can be fitted to the Folding Dice Tower. To the right of them are two packs of Zombicide Dice. At the far right of the photo are my four boxed sets of figures sculpted by Special Guests. And last, but not least, is my Zombicide Compendium Book, which is full of scenarios to use with Zombicide Season 1.
I'm sure you'll agree that is quite a haul. Painting all of the figures here is going to be a massive task but I'm up to the challenge. Thankfully, I have just recently got back to painting Zombicide zombies (from season 2) so we'll see how far my enthusiasm for painting zombies lasts. I am immensely looking forward to reading the new rules and scenarios but most of all, I want to get back to playing Zombicide, my all time favourite board-game.

Sunday, 29 March 2015

I start this month's musings post with a look at the third of my Vampirella models - Avery Misuraca. Avery was an actress with a deep fascination for the horror genre. She is probably best known as the inspiration behind the character, Countess Vladimira, who appeared in a number of comics of that name in the 1990's. This photo was taken when she was invited by Harris Comics to join their stand at a New York comic convention in 1996. Her costume is very good apart from the garish yellow bat logo over her crotch. It should be gold and the wings should be much shorter. On her right wrist she has a plastic bat bracelet which doesn't impress me much. It looks cheap and naff. Although you can't tell from this particular photo, she is wearing strappy high heel shoes, which is just so wrong for Vampirella. Still, I can't fault her looks. Physically, she certainly looks the part.

Moving on to hobby news, this has been another very busy month for me. I have finally finished painting my Super Dungeon Explore figures by doing the Rocktop Turtle Gang from the Caverns of Roxor expansion set. So that ends my foray into Chibi miniatures for a while. I know this will please some of you. Currently on my painting table are a real mix of figures - 5 Reaper contemporary Survivors, an ultra rare Zombicide Survivor and Zombivor (Kyoko, whom I bought from e-Bay just last week), 5 Zombicide Toxic Zombies (an Abomination and 4 Fatties), 4 A Touch of Evil Heroes, 1 Rackham Wolfen and 1 Mantic Deadzone Plague Demon. The last two were gifts from my good friend, Lord Siwoc. I recently bought the two Zombicide paint sets and so, naturally, I am using them to paint my Toxic Zombies. My initial thoughts on the paints are highly favourable. Reviews of all these figures will follow soon.

Although my card modelling has taken a rest for the time being I did buy and make this 28mm scale detached house you see to the right earlier this month. It is from the 4Ground World at War range and is described as Detached House 2 on their website. This is the first time I have ever bought anything from this firm and I must say I was very impressed by the quality of the model, the very clear instructions on building it and on the speedy delivery. It cost me £30.00, which I think is a fair price to pay for an MDF model that comes fully painted with removable floors and roof, interior detail and working doors. This photo was taken from the 4Ground website. As I said, I have made the house but I don't know whether to review it soon or wait until I make and add furniture items for it. Although it is sold as part of 4Ground's WW2 range there is no reason not to use it in a modern day setting, which is what I intend do.

I have been playing a few more games of Super Dungeon Explore using the Von Drakk Manor expansion set. Von Drakk is one seriously powerful opponent and is hard to kill. However, I have mostly been playing A Touch of Evil and you can expect to see a review of this mighty fine board-game and its figures in my next few posts.

I'd like to say a few words about Super Dungeon Explore and The Forgotten King and which set should you buy? The simple answer is both. TFK changes the rules in a BIG way. It will come with four books, offering differing ways of playing the game. These will supercede the rules in SDE. In addition, the stat cards are changing, although in some cases it is nothing more than a change of graphics. Some characters, however, will change more dramatically. An upgrade deck of cards for all SDE figures currently available (this includes the Von Drakk Manor and Caverns of Roxor expansion sets and the unique figures that don't come with the boxed sets) will be available to buy separately for about $15.00. So what does SDE have to offer given the changes that are afoot? Quite simply, the figures. The figures are not changing and if you want the original figures then you should buy SDE whilst it is still available. The expansion sets of Caverns of Roxor and Von Drakk Manor will be re-released but will contain the newly designed stat cards. SDE will eventually be phased out. I don't know when (probably after TFK goes on sale) and I don't know if the figures will be re-released. I hope they are. It would be a huge shame if they were discontinued.

I received a huge parcel this month that contained all of the figures I
had ordered for the Reaper Bones II Kickstarter project last year. My
god, I had forgotten just how much I had ordered! There were so many
figures in the box. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Zombicide
season 3 Kickstarter parcel, which should be soon. I recently received
an e-mail saying it had been posted. Fingers crossed it will arrive next
week. Looking further ahead, the Studio Miniatures Z-Clipz: Outbreak
set of figures are due for release in April; The Forgotten King
expansion set for SDE is due to be released in May and Rum and Bones
should be released in July. I am very excited by what lies ahead. It's
going to be a great year for gaming and figure collecting!

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

I haven't quite finished reviewing my SDE Undead figures. Here are two limited edition figures that I bought from e-Bay - Captain R and Succubus Vandella. Both are Mini Bosses and both would make suitable replacements for the Death Spectre in Von Drakk's Manor.

ARRRR! The Drowned Isles be a constant headache for sailors an' ships of tha Clockwork Cove. Tha dreaded land mass be swarmin' wit cutthroats an' scallywags to spare an' none be as successful as the courageous Cap'n R. They say 'ees plied tha seas fer a hundred years an' sent just as many ships to tha deep. Riches will flow fer tha Hero who finally gets tha best of 'im because he who gets tha Cap'n gets 'is gold.
Captain R is an Undead Skeleton Pirate Mini Boss and a very interesting villain. He has a decent set of stats but not too powerful. Movement: 6, Wounds: 5, Actions: 3, Attack: 1 blue die and 2 red dice, Armour: 2 blue dice and 1 red die, Will: 1 blue die and 1 red die and Dex: 1 blue die and 1 red die.

Captain R has 1 ability - Pirate Hoard. This model may equip Loot and Treasure cards. When spawned, draw one Treasure card and equip it on this model. When defeated, Heroes gain all Loot and Treasure cards this model has equipped. That's pretty darned cool!
He has 1 Special Ability - X Marks the Spot. If he spends 2 Action points he may draw and equip himself with 1 Loot card.
He also has 2 Special Attacks - Flintlock and Deep One Attack. Flintlock is a Missile attack with a range of 6 squares and adds a bonus +1 red die to his Dexterity. It costs 1 Action point to use. Deep One Attack is a Magic attack with Cross:5 (it forms a cross of 5 squares in four directions centred on him) and adds +1 red die to his Willpower. It costs 2 Action points to use.

The Dark Tower's shadow stretches across the whole of Crystalia and is a bleak reminder of the Consul's strength and power. Succubus Vandella represents a more subtle aspect of the Consul's power, the power to corrupt and beguile. She delights in tormenting her prey and sowing chaos within even the most steadfast Hero's heart.
Succubus Vandella is a Demon Mini Boss who should not be underestimated. She only has 4 Wounds but she is cheaper to activate than most other Mini Bosses, costing just 3 Skulls instead of 4. However, she has improved Movement and Action points with scores of 7 and 4 respectively. Her attack is above average with 1 blue die and 1 red die. Her Armour is a very average 2 blue die. Her Will is much better with 3 blue dice and 1 red die and her Dexterity is best of all with 3 red dice.

She has 4 Abilities - Dodge, Fly, Magic:4 and Pacify. A model with Dodge may use their Dexterity when making defence rolls unless they are suffering from Immune, Knockdown or Slow. Fly is self-explanatory. Magic:4 allows her to cast spells up to 4 squares away and if successful will also pacify the target. Pacify prevents a target from using any Special Attacks.
She has one Special Ability - Come Hither, which costs 2 Action points. It has Wave: 3 and Compel:3 so any target within 3 squares of her may be moved 3 squares in any direction. Very useful for pushing enemies away or drawing them next to her.
Her one Special Attack, Alluring, also costs 2 action points to use. This Magic attack adds +1 red die to her Will and if the attack is successful she immediately heals one Wound.
These two figures were on my want list for quite some time and so I was pleased to be able to buy them on e-Bay. I love it when sellers include the Buy Now option! Captain R is a great figure. Who doesn't like undead pirates? His ability to collect Treasure and Loot like a Hero makes him unique amongst the villains.
I love the figure of Succubus Vandella. I love the way she is blowing a kiss with one eye opened and one eye closed. I've used her once in a game and she was a tough opponent to kill due to her ability to heal wounds. She is not Vampirella but she is the closest representation of my favourite vampire in SDE so naturally I have a deep affection for her.
These figures are currently out of production although they sometimes appear on e-Bay. However, they will be re-released with new stat cards once The Forgotten King goes on sale. I was delighted to see that the new stat cards will allow Vandella to be played as a villain or as a Hero. That just made my day!

Sunday, 22 March 2015

And so I come to the last of my reviews of the figures from the Von Drakk Manor expansion set. I have saved the best (in my opinion) and most powerful until last.

Von Drakk has despoiled his homeland like an eternal plague. Once teeming with life the Glauerdoom moorlands are now a haven for witches' covens, foul swamp creatures and the unquiet dead. Von Drakk cares not, so long as his manor retains its splendour and his dark appetites are sated.
As you would expect, Von Drakk is an Undead Vampire Boss. Consequently, his stats are extremely powerful. He can move 8 squares, making him incredibly fast. He has 6 Wounds - most heroes only have 5. He can perform 4 actions per Turn - most Heroes can only perform 3. His Attributes are most impressive - Attack is 2 automatic successes plus 4 blue dice, Armour is 2 red dice, Willpower is 1 automatic success plus 2 red dice and his Dexterity is 3 red dice.

Von Drakk has 2 Abilities - Blood Drinker and Dodge. When a model with Blood Drinker rolls a Heart they gain 1 Heart in exactly the same way as a Hero. What this means is that Von Drakk can heal his wounds. A model with Dodge may use their Dexterity when making defence rolls unless they are suffering from Immobile, Knockdown or Slow.
The vampire lord has 3 Special Abilities - Shapeshift, Ghostly Vigour and Tide of Bones. Shapeshift costs 1 Action and allows Von Drakk to transform into Nocturne (see below).
Ghostly Vigour is an Augment ability (it only affects friendly figures)
with a range of 3 squares surrounding Von Drakk. All Undead gain a +1
blue die bonus to their Attack rolls. Tide of Bones has Wave:2 (a cone
that reaches out for 2 squares). This affects Bone Pile counters. The counter is removed from play and is replaced with a model with the Risen Ability (that means Rattle Bones at present). If a model is in the same square as the target square Tide of Bones has no effect.

Those who meet the gaze of Von Drakk say it is like staring into the
soul of the beast. None realise how correct they are. When in the full
throes of bloodlust Von Drakk is overtaken by a hideous transformation;
his new form ideally suited to bringing carnage and ruin to his foes.
Nocturne
is the Shapeshift form of Von Drakk and he is one extremely frightening
and powerful foe. His Wounds, Movement and Actions per Turn are the
same as Von Drakk's. His Attack is 2 automatic successes plus 2 blue
dice plus 2 red dice (gulp!). Armour is 2 blue dice and 2 red dice,
Willpower is 3 red dice and Dexterity is 2 red dice.

Nocturne has 3 Abilities - Berserk, Blood Drinker and Fly. During its activation a model with Berserk may make a single melee attack costing no action points. That's 5 attacks per Turn he can make and with his Attack stats that can
prove lethal for most Heroes (yikes!). Blood Drinker is described above
for Von Drakk and Fly is self-explanatory.
He has 1 Special Ability - Shapeshift, which allows him to transform back to Von Drakk. He also has 1 Special Attack, which costs him 2 Actions - Terrifying Screech. This has Wave:3 and will Stun all enemies in that cone. A model suffering from Stun discards the highest result rolled any time it makes a roll using its Will attribute. This will prove most inconvenient against magic using Heroes.
Okay, what are my thoughts on these two figures? First of all, I was
blown away by how well they were sculpted. Von Drakk may appear a bit
too comical but I say, so what? I still think he is a great figure. Note how he is hovering above the ground. I like that! Nocturne is one of my favourite sculpts for SDE. There is nothing Chibi-esque about him. He looks scary and powerful... and he is.
Von Drakk is incredibly difficult to defeat. His ability to heal wounds is a huge bonus to his survival chances. His stats are truly frightening and in four games using this set the Heroes have only defeated him once. However, Nocturne is even worse if you're playing the Heroes. I like playing Von Drakk but I much prefer him as Nocturne. Nocturne is a party killer supreme and some may think he is over-powered but not me. He can be killed but it is no easy feat to vanquish him, which is exactly how it should be when facing a Dungeon Boss.

As promised, here is my group shot of all the villains from Von Drakk Manor. I really like this expansion set. This was the set that convinced me to buy Super Dungeon Explore due to my obsession with all things undead. You can clearly see just how large the Crypt Spider, Nocturne and the Death Spectre are. Those three are very frightening figures, both in appearance and in abilities. This expansion set is very different to the base set and a truly welcome addition. It is currently out of production but you can still buy it on e-Bay if you don't mind paying over £100 for it! However, the good news is that it will return after the new expansion set, The Forgotten King, goes on sale in a few weeks time. If you really want it I'd advise waiting a while until it is re-released. Blax, that's for your benefit.

Thursday, 19 March 2015

As I draw closer to the end of my reviews of the figures from the Von Drakk Manor expansion set it is time to look at a couple of the "big guns" of this set - the Crypt Spider and the Death Spectre.

Spiders are favoured guardians of the many crypts and barrows of the Glauerdoom. They have no interest in the dead nor in their treasures. Cruel, cunning and immeasurably patient they wait in elaborately spun webs. They know the lure of treasure and plunder is irresistible to the living. Soon enough foolish Heroes will come and then the Crypt Spider will feast.

A Crypt Spider is a denizen spawned from the Pumpkin Patch. It costs 3
Skulls to spawn, has 3 Wounds and 3 Actions per turn. With an Attack
stat of 2 red dice and an Armour stat of 3 blue dice it is a fearsome
foe. It has one ability - Surefoot, which allows it to move across dangerous terrain without penalty. Its one Special Ability is Silk Spinner which has Spray 3 (hits targets in a cone up to 3 squares in range), Slow (causes the target to halve its Movement score, rounding up, during its activation) and Dangerous, meaning it affects friendly models as well as enemies. Finally, it comes with one Special Attack, which costs 2 points to activate. This is Enervating Bite which grants it +1 red die to hit and causes Poison as well as a wound. A model suffering from Poison loses 1 action point during its activation.

Death comes to us all, but within the shrouded mists and fog of Glauerdoom Moor death is all too common. One might even say that death is a certainty.
The Death Spectre is an Undead Mini-Boss. It costs 4 Skulls to activate, has 4 wounds, 3 Actions per turn and an unbelievably low movement rate of just 1. However, this is not that big a disadvantage, as you will see below.

The Death Spectre has no normal abilities but does have one Special Ability - Ghost Form. This allows it to Teleport up to 10 squares away and in line of sight of his current square. He has a very poor Attack stat of just 1 blue die but this is countered by his one Special Attack, which is quite awesome! Lifesap has a range of 1 square. The Death Spectre does not roll to hit. Instead the target automatically takes 1 Wound and Death immediately heals 1 Wound. Damn, but that is nasty!
This are BIG models. You'll see just how big when I publish a group photo of the Von Drakk Manor Undead figures next time. Soda Pop Miniature figures now come pre-assembled and in most cases this is a good thing, although I certainly didn't mind making the figures from the basic boxed set. However, as soon as I saw the Crypt Spider I could see it was going to be a bitch to paint its underbelly. Fortunately, it was only attached to the wall behind it by one peg in its belly. I deliberately cut this peg to detach the spider from the wall, thus making it far easier to paint both spider and wall. I'd recommend doing this if you are at all concerned about painting it properly. I then glued it back in place once I'd finished painting both parts. I also added a spot of superglue to the ends of its legs to make the spider even more secure in place.
Moving on to the Death Spectre when you look at his stats he is not particularly impressive. In fact his Movement value of 1 and his 1 blue die for Attack are downright pitiful. But, and it is a big but, he is one of the nastiest Mini Bosses in the game. His two abilities more than make up for those low stats. With Teleport there is no hiding from him. As for Lifesap, there is no defence against it and he can use it even if he isn't wounded. The only downside to Lifesap, if you're playing the bad guys, is he can only use it a maximum of three times in a turn. Still, that's three guaranteed hits and in two Turns he can kill ANY Hero without having to roll a single die, provided they don't heal. Just think about that! Death Spectre can be killed but your Heroes had better make sure they inflict 4 Wounds on him in one Turn. He is one extremely scary dude!
The two figures are superbly sculpted. The Crypt Spider would not look out of place in any fantasy game. There is nothing Chibi-esque about him. As for the Death Spectre, if you thought Chibi meant cute then I suggest you reconsider. He looks evil and he is evil!

Monday, 16 March 2015

Today I'm reviewing two more types of skeletons from the SDE Von Drakk Manor expansion set - Bone Heads and Dread Knights.

Bone Heads make up the ranks of Von Drakk's and the Dark Consul's undead legions. Drawn from the lucky few Rattle Bones who survive their first engagement with heroic adventurers, they are clad in the rusty and battered armour of those who have fallen before them, to hopefully survive their second.

Bone Heads are Undead Skeleton Minions with very average stats, 1 Wound and 1 Action per Turn. They have an Armour stat of 1. This is a fixed value. Their Attack stat of 3 blue dice is above average.

They have only one Ability, which is Bone Pile. When this model is destroyed leave a Bone Pile counter in the same square it occupied. This counter is ignored for purposes of Movement and Line of Sight. A model may spend 2 points of Movement to stomp on a Bone Pile's counter to remove it from play.

Bone Heads have no Special Abilities or Special Attacks.

In life Dread Knights were vaunted warriors, serving their lords with steadfast devotion. Their loyalty continues even into death and they remain highly prized as some of the Dark Consul's deadliest minions.

Dread Knights are Undead Skeleton Minions and are considered the elite of the skeleton warriors. They cost 2 Skulls to spawn, have 2 Hearts and 2 Actions per Turn. They have an Armour stat of 1 and an Attack stat of 1 blue die and 1 red die.

They have two Abilities - Bone Pile (see above) and Cold. Any Wound caused by the Dread Knight also inflicts Cold. A model suffering from Cold discards the highest result rolled anytime it makes a roll using the Dexterity attribute.

Dread Knights have one Special Attack, Cursed Blade, which costs 2 Actions to use. It grants a +1 red die to hit and in addition to causing 1 Wound it inflicts Fragile on the target model. A model suffering Fragile discards the highest result rolled anytime it makes a roll using its Armour attribute.
I like these figures a lot. I've always been a fan of skeleton warriors. The rust effect on their armour and swords was achieved by a heavy wash of Citadel Seraphim Sepia. The Bone Heads are the most numerous of the skeletons in this set, with a total of six. There are only two Dread Knights in the set. All of my skeletons in SDE have glowing green eyes to indicate that some supernatural power is animating them.

Friday, 13 March 2015

This will be the first of my reviews of the undead in Super Dungeon Explore. I'm looking at three types of skeletons - Dust Mages, Rattle Bones and Skullbats.

The death of a Dust Coven Necromancer does not mean an end to them entirely. The dark magic of necromancy clings to their bones like bitter frost. They are reborn as the cruel Dust Mages, cursed to be bound to another necromancer's evil desires.

Dust Mages are Undead Skeleton Minions. They are very weak opponents with a poor set of stats. Their Armour stat of 0 and only 1 wound makes them very easy to kill. It only costs 1 Skull to spawn one of them.

Dust Mages have three abilities - Bind, Bone Pile and Magic:8. Bind prevents the target model from using any Special Actions. Bone Pile is interesting. When a model with this ability is destroyed leave a Bone Pile counter in the same square it occupied. This counter is ignored for purposes of Movement and Line of Sight. A model may spend two points of Movement to stomp on a Bone Pile counter in their square to remove it from play.

The Dust Mage has one Special Ability - Mend Bones. This has a range of 6 squares and uses the Raise ability. This allows the Mage to replace a target Bone Pile with a model with the Risen ability (see Rattle Bones below). The counter is then removed from play. If a model is in the same square as a target counter Raise has no effect.

Rattle Bones are the plague of the moorlands and the favourite trick of up-and-coming necromancers. Easy to raise, easy to destroy and easy to raise again. They are an unceasing nuisance to even the most powerful of Heroes. The only true way to keep them down is to stomp their bones to dust.

A Rattle Bone is an Undead Skeleton Minion. These are also incredibly weak with an Armour stat of 0 and only 1 Wound. Rattle Bones cannot be spawned. They must be Raised from a Bone Pile.

Rattle Bones have three abilities - Bone Pile, Mob and Risen. Bone Pile is described above. Mob adds +1 blue die to this model's melee attacks for every other model with Mob ability in melee with the same target up to +3 blue dice. Kobolds have this ability and seeing as Rattle Bones have an Attack stat of 3 blue dice, this can potentially add up to 6 blue dice. Nasty! Finally, Risen allows the model to enter play as a result of the Raise ability.

Rattle Bones have no Special Abilities or Special Attacks.

When one dies in the moorlands it is customary to bury them head first. Failing that, it is practical to secure a good solid helmet on the deceased's head. One wouldn't want it to sprout wings and fly away after all!

Skull Bats are Undead Bat Denizens and are by far the weakest of all the Undead creatures. They have a pitiful Attack stat of 1 blue die, an Armour stat of 0 and only 1 wound. Their Will stat is 2 blue dice and seeing as they are Magic Users this is the stat they will use for most (all?) attacks.

They have 4 abilities - Host, Fly, Magic:4 and Insignificant. Fly and Magic:4 are self explanatory. Host is used when this model is spawned (from the Pumpkin Patch). The Consul may immediately place an additional model with Host in an empty adjacent square. You may activate two models with Host for every Skull value. Each model must complete its activation before the second is activated. As for Insignificant, when a model with this ability suffers a Wound in melee, the model that inflicted the Wound may immediately make a free melee attack. Inflicting a Wound on an insignificant model does not advance the Power Gauge but the Loot-o-meter will advance as normal.

Skullbats have one Special Ability called Juxtapose. This uses Will vs Will. If successful, the target model suffers Vulnerable to Magic. The Skullbat is destroyed after using this ability, even if the action was unsuccessful.
These three types of Skeletons are very easy to kill and at first glance they appear to be of little threat to the Heroes. But as I learnt the hard way, they are very good at slowing down Heroes. Kill a Dust Mage or a Rattle Bone and it becomes a Bone Pile. But here's the dilemma if you're the Hero. Do you take time to stomp on the Bone Pile to destroy it? Do this and you are slowed down. Or do you just ignore the Bone Pile and carry on? This option is also good and bad. Good in that you can advance into the dungeon but bad in that someone with Raise ability can create a Rattle Bone from that Bone Pile counter. In my first game with the Von Drakk Manor figures, I took the time to stomp out every Bone Pile counter that was created. This slowed me down so much that by the time Von Drakk appeared there were till two of three Spawning Points left. Suffice to say, Von Drakk slaughtered the Heroes. The quote from the Rattle Bones' background "easy to raise, easy to destroy and easy to raise again" is so true. Skeletons make great speed bumps. Oh, and before I go, I must tell you that in that game I mentioned above, a group of Rattle Bones ganged up on Von Wilder the werewolf and killed him. Ignore them at your peril!

Monday, 9 March 2015

Here is my first review of the monsters and villains from the Von Drakk Manor set - a Dust Coven Necromancer, 2 Curse Coven Witches and 2 Miserable Toads.

Dust Coven Necromancers can often be seen lurking among the many crypts and mausoleums dotting the land, cackling madly as they go about their grim work. So inevitable is the reanimation of the dead in the moorlands that many wealthy families employ their own necromancers. Ensuring that if their ancestors are to be counted among the walking dead at least they will remain in service to their kith and kin.

Despite being a Witch Minion, the Dust Coven Necromancer spawns from the Shallow Grave Spawning Point. He is quite a handful with 3 Wounds, 3 Actions per turn and costing 3 Skulls to spawn. His one ability is Magic:8, giving him a range of 8 squares. He has no Special Attacks but 3 Special Actions. First up is Mend Bones. This ability, more commonly known as Raise, has a range of 6 squares and will replace the target Bone Pile counter with a model that has the Risen ability (all skeletons have this ability). The counter is then removed from play. If a model is in the same square as as the target counter Raise has no effect. Tide of Bones works in a similar manner but affects all Bone Piles in a 2 square wave. Finally, Renewed Vigour is an Augment effect which can Compel friendly targets to move up to three squares in any direction away from the Necromancer. This could be useful in moving Bone Piles away from or into the paths of Heroes.

The Curse Coven is a favourite of witches far and wide. Indeed, most witches have dabbled in curses. It is easy to find great pleasure in curdling toddlers' milk, giving a fussy aunt the farts, or just turning someone into a good old fashioned toad.

The Curse Coven Witch is a Witch Denizen and comes with 2 Actions per turn, 2 Wounds and a cost of 2 Skulls to spawn. She starts with three abilities - Fly, Magic:6 and Potion:1. Potion:1 grants her 1 Potion when she enters play. She may spend it in the same manner as a normal potion but once used it may not be regained by dice rolls. Her Potion is especially annoying. It is called Transmogrify and can Shapeshift a target model in melee with her into a Miserable Toad. She also has one Special Attack which costs 2 actions to use - Shocking Bolt. This adds +1 red die to her Will stat and in addition to causing a Wound also Stuns and Knockdowns a target model.

A Miserable Toad cannot be spawned. It can only enter play if the Curse Coven Witch uses her Transmogrify Potion. Also, Miserable Toad is played by the hero who got transformed not the Consul.

A Miserable Toad has 5 Wounds, 3 Actions per turn. Its stats are 1 blue die for Attack (very poor), an Armour value of 0 (ouch!), a Will of 2 blue dice (average) and a Dex of 3 blue dice (above average).

It has three abilities - Dodge, Small and Smooches. Dodge is very useful as it may use its Dex stat when making defence rolls unless it is suffering from Immobile, Knockdown or Stun. Small means it may only be targeted by melee attacks. Finally, Smooches allows it to Shapeshift back to its original form, if a friendly model moves into an adjacent squares and spends one Action point to give it a kiss. And yes, one Miserable Toad can kiss another Miserable Toad.

Finally, Miserable Toad comes with one Special Attack - Sticky Tongue. This is a Missile attack with a range of 2 squares used against Dex and not Armour. If successful, Miserable Toad gains either one heart or one potion in addition to any that are rolled.
The Dust Coven Necromancer has the look of someone who is both mentally unstable and evil. He's a cool villain. To me, the two Witches look far too cute to be bad guys. Perhaps they're just being a pair of rebels working for the Consul. I love them both and yes, I did deliberately paint them very differently for identification purposes. As for the Miserable Toads, again they are great figures and again they are deliberately painted differently. Note that I gave them a coat of gloss version to give them that wet look. In one game I played the Witches used their Transmogrify Potions on both the Sister of Light and Von Wilder the Werewolf in the same turn. That was darned annoying as the Hero player but so much fun as the Consul. Fortunately for the Heroes, the Celestial Herald has able to give them a healing kiss on the following two turns.

Friday, 6 March 2015

Before I show you the bad guys from the SDE expansion set, Von Drakk Manor, I want to review the three Spawning Points that come with this set - 2 Shallow Graves and a Pumpkin Patch.

Baron Von Drakk makes great claims to being the lord of both life and death. Within the confines of his realm it is a claim that is all too true. the Glauerdoom Moor is a grim and foreboding place by any measure. Its fetid fens and marshes remain perpetually shrouded beneath a grey fog. Its great cities have long since faded, their glory reduced to crumbling ruins and sinking towers. The landscape is dotted by vast mausoleums and endless crypts built to house the ever dwindling population's dead.
Tragically, the dead do not rest long. The dark power of necromancy infuses the land and the dead sleep uneasily. Their slumber is but a brief respite. Soon their master bids them to rise and take their place in his macabre host.

The Shallow Grave Spawning Points must be fielded as a pair. Each one can spawn a combination of the following - 1 Dust Coven Necromancer, 2 Dust Mages, 2 Dread Knights or 6 Boneheads. Be aware that there are two mistakes on the Shallow Grave stat cards. It says that 6 Rattle-Bones can also be spawned. This is wrong on two points - first up, the set only comes with 4 Rattle-Bone figures, not 6, and secondly, Rattle-Bones cannot be spawned - they must be raised by a Dust Coven Necromancer or Dust Mage from a pile of bones.

Long ago the inhabitants of the Glauerdoom used pumpkins to carve jack-o-lanterns to trick the restless spirits of the moor to pass by their homes at night. In time the spirits grew wise to this deception and decided to play a trick of their own. Now pumpkin patches are grim, haunted places where the creatures that go bump in the night lurk, waiting for their prey.
Beneath the dark boughs of the Witches' Weald pumpkins grow wild and the orange globes pulse with strange energies as the witch covens practice their own special brand of dark magic - poisons, necromancy, enchantment, curses, no subject is taboo. The covens find great favour with both the Dark Consul and Von Drakk Manor. Both often have need of the witches' unique abilities when dealing with self righteous Heroes who seek to thwart them.

The Pumpkin Patch can spawn a combination of the following - 1 Crypt Spider, 2 Curse Coven Witches or 4 Skullbats. Once again, there is an error on the stat card. It states that 6 Skullbats can be spawned but the set only comes with 4 of them, not 6.
Getting the stat cards wrong is, to say the least, unfortunate. However, that does not detract from the fact that these are excellent sculpts. They are far and away, the best sculpted Spawning Points in the game. The Pumpkin Patch inspired me to buy a set of Giant Pumpkins and Pumpkinheads from Impact Miniatures. As for the Shallow Grave, I love the giant skeleton that is wrapped around the tombstone. These are very cool minis.